Toldot 5767 -- The meaning of the birthright

Let’s do some learning of a few verses across the commentaries. We’ll look at the sale of the birthright – 1) what was sold, 2) what was it sold for, and 3) what does Esau mean when he says that the birthright is no good to him as he is heading towards death?

See Bereishit 25:31-32.

“Vayomer Yaakov: Michra cha’yom et bechoratcha li. Vayomer Esav: Hine Anochi Holech Lamoot, v’Lamah zeh li Bechorah. And Jacob said: sell to me as clear as day (see Rashi) your birthright. And Esau said: Here I am headed toward death, and why do I have this birthright?”

We’ll look at Rashi, Rashbam & the Ibn Ezra and Radak, Sforno, Hizkuni.


1) Note that there are 3 approaches to what the birthright was:
a. It represented inheritance of Isaac’s wealth (Rashbam)
b. It represented inheritance of the land of Israel (Hizkuni)
c. It represented the chance/obligation to do Temple service prior to the advent of the Priesthood (Rashi and also Hizkuni to 25:34).

2) There are also 2 approaches to the terms of the exchange.
a. Jacob literally bought the birthright with the bowl of lentils (Sforno).
b. Jacob paid Esau in cash, and then gave him lentils to symbolize completion of the deal (Rashbam, Hizkuni).

3) There are 4 explanations of Esau’s statement “Anochi Holech LaMoot – I am going to die – v’Lamah Li Bechora – and what point is there in the birthright?”
a. Esau is literally dying of fatigue and hunger (Sforno)
b. Esau leads a dangerous life, hunting beasts in the wild (Rashbam, Ibn Ezra and Radak).
c. Esau knows that he must die sometime, and that will be before the conquest of the land of Israel, so his share in the land will be worthless to him (Hizkuni)
d. Esau feels that his obligation to do Temple Service – derived from the birthright -- will lead him to death, as he will fail to do the service properly and incur punishment. (Rashi)

Of this last category, note that there are implicitly 3 distinct reasons why Esau was willing to sell his birthright. 1) because of Esau’s particularly dangerous lifestyle, he discounts the value of anything occurring even in the near future, because he may not be alive to take advantage of it (a & b); 2) even if Esau led a very safe lifestyle, he would probably not be alive by the time the right vests – although his descendants will be – and so he dismisses the birthright as worthless (c); and 3) Esau believes that the obligations associated with the birthright – which he will be alive to receive – will themselves lead to death.

Let’s now focus on Rashi’s interpretation. As mentioned, before the advent of the priesthood, Temple Service to God was done by first-born sons, just as Aaron is the first-born son of Amram and Yocheved. According to Rashi, Esau believes that no good can come from doing this Service, but only warnings, punishment and ultimately death. All that Esau focuses on are the ways in which this is a burden, the ways in which he might err. Therefore, he asks, ‘if this birthright will lead me to death, what on earth do I want it for?’

There are many times when we feel like mitzvot can be a burden, times when we may be tempted to ask, like Esau, “what do I need this for? All I can do is screw up!” As a matter of fact, I believe that one of the main arguments of early Christianity was precisely this: that, challilah, God created mitzvoth so that humanity would sin. Of course, the opposite is true – God gave us Torah and Mitzvot so that we should have opportunities to succeed and to draw closer to God. The theory is, the more commandments, the more chances to actually get it right. As Pirkei Avot states: “God desired to give merit to Israel and so therefore increased for them Torah and Mitzvot, as the verse states: Hashem Hafetz L’maan Tzidko, Yagdil Torah v’Yadir.”

God gives us these opportunities to climb the ladder to a more meaningful life precisely because we have such a hard time doing it. Mitzvot are opportunities to connect to the Divine. Although they certainly can be burdensome, let us never make the mistake of Esau and ask: what are they good for? As Jews, far from bringing us to our death, mitzvot give us life.